I
would like to express my sincere revulsion
at the selection of Desmond Tutu to
speak at the graduation ceremony this
year [Almanac November
5, 2002]. Historically, Desmond
Tutu may have made some amazing contributions
to South Africa. However, his recent
speeches and articles leave much to
be desired. Tutu has described Al-Qaeda
members as "not lunatic fringe
[but rather] ... quite intelligent.".

Tutu
has made overtly racist statements
such as "I am not even anti-white,
despite the madness of that group." Tutu
supports the movement to divest from
Israel. Tutu has said that people
are unwilling to criticize Israel "because
the Jewish lobby is powerful--very
powerful."

Tutu
is the essence of a racist and an
anti-Semite as well as being an apologist
for terrorists. Is this really who
we want speaking at a Penn graduation?

--Ariel
Soiffer, CAS '00

Response

As
I told another member of the Penn
community [Almanac December
16, 2002] who wrote a letter objecting
to the choice of Archbishop Desmond
Tutu as Commencement Speaker, Archbishop
Tutu was selected to receive an honorary
degree at Penn and to speak at Commencement
in recognition of his profound contributions
to human rights and of his visionary
leadership in healing a society wracked
by injustice and violence. The honor
Penn will bestow upon Archbishop Tutu
does not imply an endorsement of every
one of his public statements, only
of his undeniable and fundamental
role in ending apartheid in South
Africa and overseeing the work of
that country's Truth and Reconciliation
Commission. Given the great diversity
of the Penn community, it is unlikely
that each member will approve of all
honorary degree recipients. The criterion
for selecting the awardees ensures,
however, that they are all most worthy
of the honor.

--Leslie
Laird Kruhly, Secretary

Speaking
Out welcomes
reader contributions.
Short, timely
letters on
University
issues will
be accepted
by Thursday
at noon for
the following
Tuesday's
issue, subject
to right-of-reply
guidelines.
Advance notice
of intention
to submit
is appreciated.
--Eds.